BALTIMORE — On Tuesday night at Coppin State University, No. 3 seed Boeheim’s Army sprung to an early 6-1 lead against The Basketball Tournament’s two-time defending champion and No. 1 seed Overseas Elite. Eric Devendorf and Brandon Triche exchanged a smile after the backcourt duo led a two-on-one game in transition to put BA up five early. The Syracuse alumni, who erupted for a 25-point comeback in the Elite Eight, looked poised for an upset from the get-go.

But backed by a balanced attack, Overseas Elite improved to a perfect 18-0 with a 81-77 victory, as seven players scored six points or more. With the loss, BA falls to 9-3 over three summers in TBT.

Here are superlatives from the game.

Turning Point: Late giveaway

Boeheim’s Army hung around all night, staying within two or three possessions throughout. After a Trevor Cooney 3-pointer made it a four-point game, BA drew as close to Overseas Elite as it had been the entire second half. But after he hit a corner 3-pointer, and grabbed a key defensive rebound, Cooney, looking to push the tempo, threw the ball into the hands of DeAndre Kane. On OE’s next possession, Kane hit a 3 that extended its lead to seven with under a minute left.

Stud: Errick McCollum II

A Division-II product, Errick McCollum II shined running the Overseas point. He hit a long 3-pointer to extend the OE lead to seven early, then hit another deep 3 before the half to keep it a two-possession game at the break. While he did not attack the basket, McCollum was effective from 15-feet and farther. McCollum, who finished 5-of-7 from deep, entered Tuesday averaging 15.5 points per game, and he upped that total with an 18-point showing.

Dud: Donte Greene

The 6-foot-11 center who scored 28 points in BA’s second-round game, using his 3-point touch and interior post moves, struggled Tuesday. In 21 minutes, he collected only four points on 1-of-6 shooting. He grabbed three boards and committed one turnover. He looked out of rhythm when he bricked a turnaround, fadeaway jumper midway into the second half. He didn’t see court time again.

Highlight: James Southerland’s two-handed jam

Down seven with slightly over 10 minutes remaining, BA guard John Gillon flashed to the corner. He faked a 3-pointer, dribbled right and tossed a chest-pass to a cutting James Southerland. Fresh off a stint with the Utah Jazz in the NBA Summer League, Southerland threw down a two-handed slam to bring BA back within five. It mirrored his highlight-reel dunk in the Round of 16, his 2017 BA debut.

Lowlight: Rick Jackson’s missed floater

With 2:30 on the clock, Trevor Cooney found space and hit Rick Jackson with a pass. From around five feet out, Jackson let a floater fly. It rimmed out. Had it gone in, BA would have pulled to within five. Instead, Overseas Elite chewed up more clock down the stretch to seal the win.

Published on August 1, 2017 at 11:48 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21